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Syllabus
WRITING FOR NEW MEDIA COURSE DESCRIPTION As described by the course catalog, this course examines the many facets of writing for new media. This course will focus on the major areas of entertainment, informational, educational, and interpersonal writing in a variety of contexts. Basic computer proficiency is required for this course. COURSE GOALS The goals of COMM 3460 for its students are threefold: *Understanding the contexts of new media venues and their accompanying skillsets *Application of knowledge and skills pertaining to new media *Practicing these skills through personal and student-led projects UNIVERSITY POLICIES The Americans with Disabilities Act: The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olphin Union Building , 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All information in this course can be made available in an alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services. The Drop/Withdrawal policy is available on the University’s website and from Student Services. You may drop a course during the first nine calendar days of the semester and withdraw during the next five days without tuition charges. After that, withdrawal is only possible “in cases of compelling non-academic emergencies” through petition to the dean of your college. The Student Code spells out specific rights of students in the classroom (http://www.admin.utah.edu/ppmanual/8/8-10.html). The code also specifies proscribed conduct, including cheat on exams, collusion, and plagiarism. Plagiarism is submitting someone else’s work as your own as well as quoting others without giving credit. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any form, and students found guilty will receive an “E” for the course. COURSE POLICIES All students will need access to a computer and the Internet . The weekly readings for the course will be hosted online, and nearly every assignment will require Internet access to some degree. Throughout the course, you will be asked to sign up for several services if you have not already. These include Wikia and Facebook. Depending on a student’s choice of final project, there may be more websites that they must sign up for. Our learning environment will be a safe, productive place to learn. Discriminatory remarks regarding gender, race, sexual orientation, age, and ability will not be tolerated in any shape or form. We must be open to observing, reflecting, and discussing the content and style of various messages, and thus we will need to create a space in which all class members, regardless of differences, are safe and comfortable in participating and contributing to class. Attendance is important in this course. While there are no immediate grade deductions for missing class, there are participation points that given for every class session. Missing class means that those points are forfeited and cannot be made up. If there is documented proof that a student could not attend class (doctor’s note, University sanctioned activity), then the student may make up points for any assignment turned in, but not participation points or presentation grades. Canvas will be used for all online discussions. In the first week, I will demonstrate how to contribute to a discussion through Canvas. After that point, any technology issues should be directed to our campus’s IT service. The cell phone and technology policy dictates that students may not allow their technological accessories to interfere with the classroom experience. This means that any students who disrupt the class with their cell phone, laptop, mp3 player, or other gadget will be asked to put the item away or leave the class. If a student is expecting an important phone call, they must notify the instructor before class and will be pardoned from the rule. The late work policy for this course is straightforward—no late work will be accepted after the day it is due. Most work that is assigned for particular days should be finished by midnight on the due date. There are several exceptions to this rule, particularly assignments that will be needed for class participation, and I will announce when this is the case. Curriculum accommodations occur in two forms: schedule and content accommodations. Schedule accommodations can be made for those who have a conflict that involves religious or spiritual observances, documented University-sanctioned activities, and family or medical related emergencies. If you anticipate any scheduling conflict with this course, please notify me as soon as possible. In every case, it is the student’s responsibility to arrange alternatives with me as soon as possible for any assignment, presentation, or examination. I do not provide content accommodations for this course. Given the topics covered, we may engage difficult, controversial subjects in this class. However, civility and tolerance of diversity are requirements of student conduct for our class. This class asks you to think and write critically about possibly controversial topics. If you believe that you may experience a conflict with your deeply felt ethical commitments or religious beliefs as a result of this course’s readings, assignments, or activities—and you are unclear about any materials’ relevance to the class—you should speak with me as soon as possible. I am more than willing to provide an explanation and discuss these matters with any student. COURSE GRADES Grading Scale: “E” is given for an assignment that fails to meet the mechanical or conceptual requirements of university work. Mechanical requirements would be matters such as turn-in times, length of assignment, grammatical concerns, focus of assignment, etc. Conceptual matters would revolve around the comprehension of ideas and relationships between ideas. “D” is given for work which meets the requirements established, but demonstrates serious flaws either in conceptual formation or mechanical limits. “C” work is marked by timely completion of the assignment, demonstrating a solid grasp of the material. It shows me that you understand the material under consideration. “B” is given for a timely completion of the assignment, demonstrating not only a grasp of the material under consideration, but the ability to synthesize the material rather than simply repeat what you have learned. It goes beyond minimum requirements outlined in the assignments, and represents work which is above average. “A” work constitutes superior handling of the mechanical and conceptual material covered in class. Not only does it synthesize materials covered, but will also show some originality of thought, an unusual degree of clarity in expression, and an ability to contextualize ideas, explore implications, and/or raise meaningful questions. “A” work is a superior presentation of extremely diligent consideration given to conceptually complex work. Grade appeals can be made by students, but they must wait at least 24 hours after the assignment was returned. After that period, the student has until one week after the assignment was returned to contact me about their grade. MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS Discussion questions will be posted on the Canvas course website one-week prior to their due date. Students are expected to answer the question thoughtfully, in roughly one-to-two paragraphs. They should read others’ responses and take those into consideration. Because this is taking place in an online environment, students are encouraged to include links to materials that support their position or complicate the question (as long as the linked material is not offensive or off-topic. No rick-rolling the class.) The goal in answering these questions is not to get a “right” answer, but to devote careful thought to the subject. There are 8 responses required over the course of the semester. Wiki edits should be made to the class wiki. There is a link to the wiki on the course Canvas page. Students will need to create a Wikia username which they will share with me for grading purposes. For each wiki edit due date, students will need to have contributed at least 3 new pieces of knowledge and performed 3 maintenance tasks. In-class assignments will be announced during class time and should be easily finished during class time. They may include activities like writing a blog post, writing responses about experiences with new media, finding examples of class material, etc. Two quizzes will be given over the material covered in class. The first will be over wiki editing, and the second will be a surprise. Both quizzes are aimed at assessing competency at the skills taught in the class rather than the ability to remember facts. Participation is graded throughout the semester. Of the 150 points, 100 are earned from being present and active in class every day. This means that you will forfeit 5 points every day that you are not in class or that you fall asleep/Facebook/work on material for other classes. The remaining 50 are awarded for participation in class discussions and activities. The Mid-term examoccurs roughly at the halfway point of the semester. For this exam, students will respond to short answer questions about the informative and theoretical content presented in the course. High scores on the exam are attained by not only remembering information, but also by being able to think critically about what we know in theory and real life. The Final project and proposal are designed to allow students to bring together all of the theoretical and skill-based knowledge they have gained throughout the semester in a project that is meaningful and useful. Each student will propose a project- a blog, a vlog, a website, a social media campaign, an ebook, etc.- and then complete the project to the best of their ability. Proposals will be judged for rigor and should require significant time and effort from the student. Because each project will differ, there are no set grading standards. Instead, standards will be negotiated between the student and professor. COURSE SCHEDULE Category:Comm 3460 Class Info